Advertising sign holder



March 2, 1937., 'w.-E. WHALEY ADVERTISING SIGN HOLDER Filed Nov. 24, 1953 QMAWUZ'. m @0152 Patented Mar. 2, 1937 UNITED STATES 2,072,4itt

ATENT OFFICE 2,072,490 ADVERTISING SIGN HOLDER William E. Whaley, Louisville, Ky.

Application November 24, 1933, Serial No. 699,582 5 Claims. (01. 40-129) This invention relates to an advertising sign holder which is intended for displaying removable signs over an automobile spare tire or the like.

, Advertising sign holders of this general characfi' ter have heretofore been proposed. Such holders,

while difiering in details, were uniformly provided with horizontal partitions dividing the face into a number of sections, the marginal edges ,of which were adapted to engage and retain a re- 1 movable sign. The advertising space provided by such holders seemed to be large enough to make them suitable for advertising purposes, but for some reason or other, the holders did not appear attractive. As a result, it was found extremely difficult to sell the advertising space provided by them.

The principal object of this invention is to enhance the appearance of holders of this general type to the point where they become so neat and attractive as to render them highly effective as an advertising medium and, therefore, highly desirable.

I have found that this objective can be fully attained by eliminating the partitions heretofore 25 used so as to provide a unitary advertising section preferably extending substantially over the entire face of the holder. This not only produces a holder which is substantially more attractive than those heretofore used but makes possible a 30 substantial increase in the advertising space without any increase in the size of the holder as a whole. The increase in advertising space and attractiveness combine to render the holder useful and effective for the display of a greater range of advertising matter. Furthermore, it enables a more or less permanent advertisement to be displayed in attractive form on the space exposed by the removal of a sign and thus renders the holder useful as an effective advertising medium at all times.

While the sign may be held on the holder in any suitable manner, it is preferably held by a retaining member in the form of an annular band which is fastened to the holder and which over- 45 laps the marginal edges of the sign. In order to maintain a high degree of attractiveness, it is necessary that this band remain more or less flat during use and such end forms another object of this invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the holder without a removable sign;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken along line 22 of Figure 1 and arranged to show the relation of the holder to a spare tire;

Figure 3 is a view in elevation of the advertising faceof the holder with a removable sign; and

Figure 4 is a section, shown vertically, but taken.

of an annular disc which, in use, preferably covers the exposed face of a spare tire T and, to that end, is dimensioned such that its outside diameter is not substantially less than the outside diameter .of the tire. In other Words, the diameter of the face member approximates that of the tire. This member, which preferably is composed of a fabric such as canvas, is held or supported in the shape of a disc by a stiffening member Z in the form of a metal ring enclosed Within its outer marginal edge. The center of the member I may, if desired, be removed, but it preferably is retained and utilized as a display surface for advertising matter painted or otherwise more or less permanently placed thereon as indicated in Figure 1. The face member may be arranged in any suitable manner for support over the exposed face of the tire. In the construction shown, this support is effected by providing it with a flexible cover member 3 extending annularly inward from the periphery of the member I to a central opening whose marginal edge is held taut by a highly flexible ring-like member 4 composed of rubber or the like. The cover member 3 not only supports the face member I on the tire, but also functions as a cover for the tire T thus protecting the tire from the elements.

Now, in accordance with my invention, a removable sign 5 is arranged to cover substantially the entire face of the face member I. In order to retain or hold this sign firmly on the face member, holding means are provided along the marginal edge of the member. While any suitable holding means may be employed, the means shown include an annular band 6 which is radially stretched between and held flat by inner and outer stiffening rings 1 and 8 respectively enclosed within the inner and outer marginal edges of the band. The band 6 has the effect of neatly framing the sign and thus produces an extreme- 1y attractive appearance. The width of the band 6 between rings 1 and 8 may be made as desired, but preferably is made comparatively narrow to preserve as large a display surface as is practical. The band 6, as shown, is arranged along the marginal edge of the sign 5, and, when secured to the face member I, functions to clamp the sign thereto. The band 6 may be removably secured to the member I but can be more conveniently handled by sewing or otherwise permanently fixing a, portion of it to the margin of the member I and providing the remaining portion with suitable openings 9 to receive the fasteners III which are positioned along and secured to the member I. These fasteners provide an easy means for loosely securing one side of the band to the member I and thereby enable a portion of the band to be separated from the member I so as to create an opening through which the sign 5 may be inserted into the holder or removed therefrom.

Having described my invention, I claim:-

1. An advertising sign holder for use in connection with spare tires and the like comprising a face member arranged for support over the exposed face of a spare tire, a narrow annular band radially stretched between and held flat by inner and outer ring-like stiffening members, said band being adapted to overlap the marginal edge of a removable sign placed over said. face member, and means for holding said band in sign overlapping position.

2. An advertising sign holder for spare tires and the like comprising a substantially fiat face member, means to secure it to a spare tire, a narrow framing band positioned against the marginal edge of said face member and adapted to overlap the marginal edge of a removable sign panel positioned between it and the face member, and means for holding said band in sign overlapping position, said holding means detachably securing at least a portion of said band to permit the removal of said panel.

3. An advertising sign holder for spare tires and the like comprising a substantially fiat face member, means to secure it to a spare tire, a narrow framing band positioned against the marginal edge of said face member with its outer edge fixedly secured to the face member along a portion of its circumference so that a sign panel or sheet may be positioned between the band and the face member, and means for detachably securing the remaining portion of the band to the face member.

4. An advertising sign holder for spare tires and the like comprising a fiat circular face member, means to secure it to a spare tire, a narrow annular framing band positioned against the marginal edge of the face member with its outer edge fixedly secured to the face member along a portion of its circumference so that the removable sign panel or sheet may be positioned between the band and the face member and means for detachably securing the remaining portion of the band to the face member to permit the insertion and removal of said sign panel.

5. An advertising sign holder for spare tires and the like comprising a substantially flat face member providing space for permanent advertising matter, means to secure it to a spare tire, a

narrow framing band positioned against the marginal edge of said face member and adapted to overlap the marginal edge of a removable sign panel placed over the permanent advertising space and between the band and said face member, means for securing one portion of said band to the face member and means for detachably securing the remaining portion of said band to the face member so as to permit the insertion and removal of a removable sign.

WILLIAM E. WHALEY. 

